Fish Relocation for Marine Engineering Works

As part of the Bank Street development, a large scale cofferdam was constructed.

These works required a significant amount of heavy civils work within the marine environment with the potential to cause significant distress to the local marine life.

Upon completion of the cofferdam cell, an extensive fish relocation programme was undertaken to remove fish before the cofferdam was fully dewatered.

In addition, a range of environmental parameters, including dissolved oxygen, were constantly monitored throughout the works within the cofferdam and neighbouring dock waters which had subsequently been cut-off by the new structure.

Through the project’s piling contractor, Expanded (part of Laing O’Rourke), Canary Wharf Contractors employed the services of a licenced fishery (Framlingham Fisheries Ltd) to undertake the fish removal using best practice methods to minimise any distress caused to the marine life.

As a result of the fish capture, the following were relocated to the neighbouring dock waters:

• 300 bream (of approximately 10-20cm in length)
• 50 smelts (of approximately 10-20cm in length)
• 30 perch (of approximately 10-15cm in length)